


We Fall Together

by Cassiopeia13



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Loki, Bisexual Loki, Bisexual Thor, Bottom Loki, Bottom Thor, F/M, First Time, Genderfluid Loki, M/M, Slow Burn, Thor realizes how BAMF Loki is, Top Loki, Top Thor, lightning kink, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-05-29 19:26:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15080063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassiopeia13/pseuds/Cassiopeia13
Summary: In that split second after Odin’s words left his mouth, Thor saw it. His brother looked surprised, then pained and suddenly his earlier words echoed in Thor’s head, ‘I only ever wanted us to be equals.’ It was in that instant that Thor knew what his brother was planning to do and he didn’t even think, just kicked back with his freed leg connecting with Odin’s shoulder, causing the All-Father to let go. At the same time he pulled Gungnir upward, hauling him and Loki closer together and reached out just as his brother let go, falling away from him, but he was falling too.





	1. Chapter 1

It was Thor’s fault.

Completely Thor’s fault. 

The thunder god blamed himself and cursed his hot-headed nature and his stupid need for war as he struggled to pull Gungnir from the Bifrost. Loki hadn’t done anything he hadn’t tried himself any more than a week ago; he’d just found a way to do it all at once and again, Thor was struck with just how talented his little brother indeed was. He wanted to pull Loki to him, shake him and tell him how sorry he was, how misguided he’d been to think that a war would somehow make him a worthy hero of Asgard. The humans, for all their faults and strange ways, had shown him that true leadership, a true hero, was someone who did the right thing even when no one else believed in you. They showed him that peace was the best way and ruling with compassion and morality would always make him a better leader than a bloodthirsty tyrant he’d been so close to becoming. 

Behind him, Loki was still struggling to get off the rainbow bridge, held down by Mjölnir’s might. He was the least of Thor’s problems now, but the staff wouldn’t budge no matter how much he tugged which meant he had only one option left to him, he would have to destroy the dome. Turning, he looked at his little brother, the two of them locking eyes and Loki’s desperate pleading that Thor just let it happen, though he didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to, Thor knew his brother’s looks, he knew the look he was getting now, but no, he had to save Jotunheim if only for Loki’s sake. He couldn’t let his brother become a mass murderer, and with a lift of his hand, Mjölnir flew to him.

The resounding boom of Mjölnir hitting the rainbow bridge could no doubt be heard and felt all through Asgard. He gave Loki no thought behind him as he raised his hammer and struck the bridge again, but paused just once when he thought he heard a desperate cry of his name. A third hit and the cracks were nearly spanning the entire width of the bridge. It wouldn’t take many more hits for the whole thing to collapse, but Thor had to pause a moment to breathe. The dome shook under its own power, and the bridge started to droop, but still, it continued to drill into the planet a galaxy away. 

“THOR!” Loki cried out behind him, and Thor felt hands on his body that he would know anywhere. Whether Loki was looking for another fight or trying to pull him back, he didn’t know as he lifted his hammer high once more and struck.

The explosion echoed through his head causing him to momentarily go both blind and deaf as the blast pushed both him and Loki backward and then they were falling only to come to a jolting stop. Thor looked over his shoulder to see his father holding tight to his ankle while Loki was holding onto the bottom of the staff that Thor held tight in his hand. He looked so pained and Thor’s heart learched for what his brother must have been feeling through all this.

“I could have done it, Father; I could have done it!” Loki yelled up to where Odin was holding them off Asgard’s edge. “For you! For all of us!”

“No, Loki,” Odin admonish.

In that split second after Odin’s words left his mouth, Thor saw it. His brother looked surprised, then pained, and suddenly his earlier words echoed in Thor’s head, ‘I only ever wanted us to be equals.’ It was in that instant that Thor knew what his brother was planning to do and he didn’t even think, just kicked back with his freed leg connecting with Odin’s shoulder and causing the All-Father to let go. At the same time he pulled the staff upwards, hauling him and Loki closer together and reached out just as his brother let go, falling away from him, but he was falling too. “Loki!” He cried out, reaching for Loki’s outstretched hand. They were so close, he wasn’t going to let them be separated.

Loki’s eyes widened with the realization that Thor was falling with him before his face pinched together in pain and sorry. “WHY!?” He called out, right before Thor’s body slammed into him and pulled them closer together. “What have you done?!”

“If we’re to die, then we’re to do it together, side by side, as equals,” Thor answered and with those words, he realized how much he meant them. A life without Loki wasn’t a life he wanted to live, and he already had so much to make up for. He clutched his little brother closer, twisting one hand into the back of the trickster’s cloak while his other hand held Mjölnir. They were pressed as close together as they could be, Loki’s face buried in Thor’s neck as his arms wound tight around his brother’s shoulders. They could survive for a while like this, falling through space without air, but eventually, their bodies would give out. “I’m sorry, Loki; this is my fault... for making you... believe... that I wanted... this,” he was panting now, struggling to get the thin air into his body to form words. “You were... doing it for me. I won’t leave you... to die... for my mistakes.”

“No,” Loki whispered as the last of the air left them. 

Thor could only pull him closer if that were even possible, slotting one of his thighs between Loki’s legs and curling his hand to the back of his brother’s neck. He blinked as a shimmer of green light formed around them and realized it was Loki’s seiðr trying to protect them as long as possible. Just like their bodies, this would give out too, but at least Thor could breathe again for the time being, which also meant he could talk. “I let you believe a war is what I wanted,” he whispered cupping Loki’s face and tilting his brother’s chin up, “and I did. I did want that war with the Jötunn, Loki. I wanted to lay waste to their miserable dark planet, and I wanted to return to Asgard, a hero. I didn’t understand though. It’s not the way.” 

Again Loki looked pained, but Thor didn’t understand why. He wasn’t blaming his brother for this if anything he was telling Loki that it was his fault and that Loki was wholly forgiven. He was even forgiven for what had happened on Earth, and surely Loki knew that. Thor understood it now, the years of stares, the years of glaring, the years of distance that had all come from Loki’s side. It wasn’t that Loki didn’t love him, it was that Loki felt he wasn’t good enough and that was entirely Thor’s fault for making him believe so. The young trickster wanted to prove himself to Thor and everyone else on Asgard, prove that Loki could do what Thor had started and he’d have done it had Thor not come to his senses. None of this was Loki’s fault, but he still looked like he was on the verge of tears. Thor pulled him in with the hand on the back of his neck and pressed a kiss to Loki’s temple, keeping his lips there. 

They were both silent as they floated and fell through space, a bright light getting brighter below them, but Thor had no idea what it could be. The Bifrost was destroyed so it couldn’t be that, and if they fell into a star, then so be it, at least they were together. Loki breathed a few times deeply, opening his mouth like he was about to speak before closing it and snuggling into Thor’s body. The light had nearly blocked out the surrounding stars by the time Loki finally spoke, “he stole me from my people.” His words were whispered against Thor’s neck, but he heard them perfectly. “I was- I AM Jötunn. I’m a monster. The monsters you wanted to destroy, and I thought if I could do it, do what you couldn’t, it would wipe it all away. I thought I would finally be accepted and seen as a warrior just like Father wanted.” His hands tangled in Thor’s cape, gripping tightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Loki-” 

There was no time for anything else, no time to tell Loki all he wanted to say, to tell Loki about his adventures on Earth and ask why he’d been told that Father was dead. There was no time to tell Loki he was forgiven and that he didn’t care that Loki was Jötunn, they were still brothers. There was no time for anything more than for Thor to flip them over and curl his body around his little brother’s as they slammed into the surface of the dark rocky planet, the wind being knocked out of both of them from the impact. 

The ground was cold and hard, and Thor bounced once with the impact, Loki being thrown from his arms to roll then land a few feet away. Dazed, Thor laid on his back panting up at the starless sky trying to get his body to obey him again. He groaned and rolled over looking around frantically for Loki only to see him no more than five feet away in a similar state. With a grunt he got to his hands and knees and crawled over to collapse next to him; his body hurt everywhere. “Loki?” he gasped out, flinging out a hand and groping for his brother’s body to make sure he was still alive. “Loki? Say something. Are you okay?”

The groan that met his ears at least told him that his brother was still alive, though seemed to be just as hurt. “Where... in the Nine Realms are we?” Loki panted, then rolled over, but ended up just flopping half on top of Thor’s body, face pressed to his brother’s sternum, and stilling. An arm went around him, Thor holding on as tight as he could without having to move. 

“Somehow I don’t think we’re in the Nine Realms,” he answered with a chuckle and looked around. With great difficulty and lots of cussing from Loki, Thor sat up. He couldn’t help his amusement when all it did was cause the trickster to roll down his chest and come to a stop with his head in Thor’s lap staring up at the starless sky. One large hand carded through the black strands in an attempt to sooth while Thor took in the surrounding area. It was dark, but there was a bright light coming from somewhere, and nowhere at the same time. It was very confusing and messing with Thor’s depth perception. What looked like a star, but also not, seemed to come from every direction but didn’t give them any light; it was very disconcerting. For a moment he thought they’d landed on Jötunheim, but realized that while the ground was cold, it wasn’t snow or ice and that there were stars on Jötunheim. Wherever they were, it wasn’t anywhere he’d ever been, or ever heard of in his long life. 

With what looked like great effort, since Loki appeared to be practically purring from the hand carding through his hair, the trickster sat up and looked around. “Jötunheim?” He asked, echoing Thor’s own thoughts. “No, not Jötunheim. That would have been ironic, wouldn’t it?” He struggled to get to his feet, taking a moment to sway and steady himself before offering Thor a hand which he gladly accepted. 

Thor was just about to say something when Loki stiffened beside him, eyes going wide. “Thor, we need to get off this planet. Right now.” He turned to look at his brother, and Thor’s reply died in his throat. In all one thousand years he’s known Loki, he had never seen his brother look petrified before. The trickster’s eyes were wide, his body tense and shaking so slightly that Thor wouldn’t have known it had they not been so close. There was a death grip on his wrist that Thor wouldn’t have been able to shake free of had his life depended on it, and Loki’s nails dug little half-moons into his skin. 

Though there was nothing around, no sounds, nothing that seemed to warrant such an extreme reaction from Loki, Thor believed him. He took a step closer, but didn’t try to shake off the hand now drawing blood; if Loki needed something to ground him, then he’d at least give him that. The ground shook once, and immediately Thor was on guard calling Mjölnir to his hand, but Loki continued to stand completely still, eyes wide and barely breathing. It wasn’t like him freeze when faced with a threat, Loki was every bit as good a fighter, skilled with both hand to hand and weaponry, as Thor was. He shook his arm trying to get his brother’s attention, but Loki was staring at something in the distance that Thor couldn’t see. 

The ground shook again, and Thor stumbled, but Loki was still holding him and didn’t seem to be having any troubles with the ground. “Loki!” He called trying to get his brother to snap out of whatever held him. 

He opened his mouth to call his brother’s name again when Loki beat him to it, “give me the largest lightning blast you can make.” Thor could see it now, the green glow of Loki’s seiðr shimmering in the air in front of him. The ground shook for a third time, and this time Loki did stumble with Thor, but neither fell. “Thor!” He called frantically, “lightning blast, one meter in front of us. Now!” The prince glared at his older brother, and Thor snapped into action. He raised Mjölnir to the sky not even sure it would work, the air was weird, but after a moment it came to him. Electricity gathered and curled around his body and Loki’s body until it gathered and formed and he pulled it down to the spot Loki had demanded. At the same time beside him, his brother’s hand shot out, green and gold entwining together and slamming into the lightning Thor had already created. With a deafening crack, the very fabric of space ripped open.

“Move!” Loki yelled at him, grabbing Thor by the front of his armor and running as fast as he could. The green and gold light, framed by Thor’s lightning looked like a solid wall, and Thor was sure they were going to meet their end when they slammed into it. At the last second, just as they reached the barrier and the ground gave another mighty shake followed by the loudest rawr Thor had ever heard, the barrier parted, and they were shooting through a tunnel much like that of the Bifrost but denser. Thor couldn’t breathe, he could barely see, but he curled an arm around his brother’s waist to keep them together as they moved through the tunnel before slamming into solid ground for the second time that day. Behind them, the portal closed with barely more than a ripple of displaced air.

Much like the first time they fell, the brothers lay panting, trying to get their breath before they stood to look around. “What did you do?!” Thor bellowed, eyes wide as he stared at his little brother, amazed at the power he’d just welded. Loki had created a wormhole out of nothing, in a universe that seemed to play by different rules than the ones he knew. It was remarkable and nothing like he’d ever seen before. At least not from Loki.

It seemed, though Thor felt fine, the journey left his brother a little worse for wear. The trickster stumbled, putting a hand on Thor’s chest before he fell to the ground. Around them was a soft grassy field with wildflowers that made the air smell as sweet as Frigga’s gardens in the summertime. There were beautiful snow-capped mountains in the background and to the right of them, Thor could see towering spires of a city. For a moment he thought them back on Asgard, but the sky was purple instead of blue and the clouds a rainbow of colors that looked as though they were on fire. It was quite beautiful, and the elder prince couldn’t help but stare around in wonder at a world he never knew existed. 

Overhead an aircraft went by, doing rolls and loops leaving a yellow trail behind them that made Thor smile as he watched them a moment before looking back at his brother who was now stretched out in a bed of daisies. He looked like a painting, a young prince taking a moment to enjoy a beautiful summer day without a care in the world. With his eyes closed and a red flush to his cheeks, Loki looked so much younger than he had in years that Thor couldn’t stop staring, wanting to take in the peaceful moment and keep it with him always. 

“Are you staring at me?” 

The teasing voice pulled Thor from his thoughts, and he shook his head but answered anyway, “yes.” Any other answer and Loki would have known he was lying, even with his eyes closed. Instead of trying to get his brother to stand up, Thor settled in beside him, one large hand carding through Loki’s hair again. “How did you do that? Where are we?”

With a struggle, Loki rolled over, so his head was in Thor’s lap again, one arm thrown over his eyes, but still giving his brother access to massage his head. He hummed a moment, shrugging before finally providing an answer. “I have no idea, honestly.” Thor frowned and looked around again, he’d been to many worlds, many not in the nine-realms, and none looked like this. None had a purple sky and clouds of fire, though he had to admit it was beautiful. “I used your lightning as a catalyst to open a wormhole to get us off that planet. It felt… wrong.” 

There had been something on that planet that hadn’t sat right with Thor either, and it wasn’t just the weird lighting. He felt an energy, but not like electricity, it was something old and dark, and the hair on his arms had stood up, but at the time he thought nothing of it. Loki had sensed the danger and found a way to get them off the world; it was remarkable. Thor had known his brother a skilled sorcerer, but he’d had no idea the depth of Loki’s skill, often calling them tricks and dismissing his abilities. He would do that no longer and told Loki so.

The young prince chuckled, though it held no humor. “So now that I saved your miserable life with magic you finally see my potential?” His arm shifted, moving above his head so he could glare at his brother. “You’re an ass,” he muttered though there was more amusement than anger in his voice and Thor just smiled in return. “But to answer your question, I don’t know where we are. I hadn’t planned that far ahead when I ripped open the hole in space-time. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I could do it, and now I am uncertain I can stand.” 

“Rest then, and I will watch over you.” Loki merely hummed in answer and fell asleep, head pillowed on Thor’s thigh and his brother’s hand in his hair. The thunder god chuckled, amused that no matter how old they got, massaging Loki’s head would always put him to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Landing on a new world where the sky is purple and the clouds are on fire is certainly interesting. The princes have no choice but to explore and hopefully find food and shelter. Thor's once again amazed at Loki's magical abilities and how easily his brother can fit into any situation.

For three hours, Loki slept with his head pillowed on his brother’s thigh while Thor continued to comb his fingers through his hair. At first, he’d worried about someone coming out and finding them there, it was a little strange, two men just suddenly landing in the middle of a field, but after the first hour, Thor’s worries lessened. Instead, he turned his attention to their surroundings. There were forests in two directions with foreign trees and leaves that looked huge and thick and colored in weird colors of reds and pinks. The air around them seemed to indicate it was summer, so Thor didn’t think the leaves were changing with the seasons, but it was hard to tell from his vantage point. Birds flew from the field to the trees, their songs as pleasant to listen to as those on Asgard, or even those he’d heard on Midgard. 

Though he couldn’t hear the city from where he was sitting, he could tell it was bustling. Air crafts were flying overhead both over the city taking the people to and from the tall buildings but also going from what lay beyond the forests to the cities. The traffic was never ending which meant they were likely to find someone to tell them where in the universe they were. And perhaps they could get a place to stay and some food. 

At the thought of food, Thor’s stomach gave a loud grumble causing Loki to stir. “Of course it’s your stomach to cause me to wake,” he muttered without opening his eyes. He rolled and pressed his face into the offending area and groaned, his hands gripping at Thor’s cape as he took a few minutes to breathe. “I could sleep for a week.” Loki’s voice was muffled in the leather over Thor's stomach as he spoke but didn’t seem inclined to move until Thor’s stomach growled again. Loki’s growled right back at it before sitting up and brushing a hand through his hair. “Fine fine! I’m up.” He glared.

“You can hardly blame me for what my stomach does, brother,” Thor teased. His eyes crinkled with a smile and his good mood seemed to be infectious because a moment later Loki smiled back and nodded. “We should travel to that city and find some food and a place to stay. You need rest after using so much power, and we need to come up with a plan of action to get us back home.”

At the mention of home, Loki tensed up, and Thor reached out to press his hand to the back of Loki’s neck, thumb massaging just under his jaw. For a moment the younger prince refused to meet his eyes but at Thor’s prompting finally did, though again they looked pained. “I’m not going back, Thor,” he whispered, glancing into Thor’s eyes before looking down at his hands. “I can’t go back there. What I did… what he did… I can’t go back there.” 

“Loki-”

“He lied to me!” Loki yelled cutting off whatever Thor was about to say. He rolled to his knees before finally standing. Thor had to reach out to steady him with a hand to Loki’s hip when as soon as the trickster had gotten to his feet he swayed dangerously. His brother knocked the hand away with a hard slap and turned, hands curled into fists. “I told you what I am, but I didn’t tell you what happened. He stole me, Thor. He stole me from my people and lied to me my entire life! He stole me as some kind of pawn in his war with Jotunheim, in case he needed to use me one day to bring them to heel. And then we walked right into it when you wanted to go to war.” Loki spun, eyes hard and narrowed with anger. “And then you left me all alone to deal with it! You left me!”

“I didn’t have a choice! Father cast me out!” Thor yelled back. He wasn’t about to take the blame for being cast out and leaving Loki behind. It wasn’t as if he would have been able to take his little brother with him, and even if he had been allowed no way would Loki have gone. “You cannot blame me for leaving you on Asgard while I was thrown to Earth, my powers gone!”

They were silent a moment, both staring at the other, breathing hard before Loki turned away again with a sneer. “I wanted to punish you,” he whispered. 

That had been obvious. There had been many fights through their lives, many arguments that would end with Thor finding a dagger in his side, or Loki being thrown across a field by a bolt of lightning. There were many times when he thought his brother to be there only to find it was one of his illusions and Loki was off causing mischief somewhere else, doing the exact thing Thor had told him not to do. It was their nature, and Thor doubted it would ever change, but with those fights and through all that teasing there was also love. Thor would go to the ends of the universe for Loki, and in his own way, he liked to think Loki would do the same for him. “Why?” he finally asked, putting a hand on Loki’s back wanting to understand.

The prince whirled on him, fists clenched before he let one fly straight for Thor’s eye. The thunder god caught it easily, holding Loki’s wrist centimeters from his face; the little half-moon indents from Loki’s grip on that last world could be seen under the dried blood. It seemed to pull the prince from his anger, and he sagged, sighing and shaking his head. “I was tired of being in your shadow,” he whispered. “I’m just as good a fighter as you, Thor and the things I can do. You have no idea-”

“After you ripped a wormhole through space-time, I’m beginning to understand what you can do, brother,” Thor interrupted with a small smile on his face. When Loki looked up at him, the thunder god simply shrugged causing his brother to chuckle and nod. 

The city didn't look too far, just past a clump of trees on the edge of the field, but perception could often be wrong when walking through unknown areas. The field they were in held high grasses and beautiful flowers but didn’t seem to have a pathway people would walk on. Thor hoped they weren’t stepping on anything off limits, that wasn’t a discussion he wanted to have with the natives. 

Loki stole a glance out of the cover of his eye, opening his mouth as if to say something then closed it. He did that three times before finally speaking, “maybe I was wrong to think you were one of those who kept me in your shadow. You truly never saw me that way, did you.” 

While it wasn’t a question, not really, Thor answered it anyway, stopping and pulling Loki to stand before him. His hand raised to settle on the back of his brother’s neck, much like he always did. “Loki, I’ve always thought the world of you. I thought we would live side by side until our days ended. We would fight together, we would rule together. What anyone else thought of you, or your station in our family, please never doubt that I have never questioned your place by my side.”

“Sap.”

Thor laughed and pulled his brother in to press a kiss to his temple before they started to walk again. He laughed harder when Loki pushed him, much like they used to do when they were kids, pushing each other to keep them from reaching their destination first. Thor’s bellowing laugh filled their surroundings with its beautiful sound of joy, and it made Loki smile in return. It was a good look on him, and Thor was about to tell him so when they came to the end of the field and got their first view of the sprawling city. 

Everywhere they looked was gold and glittering jewels covering every available surface. Even the pathways were sparkling with a glittering type of cement that Thor had never seen before. He had to shield his eyes as the sunlight glinted off a passing aircraft and reflected in the building in front of them, blinding him temporarily. Loki was similarly shielding his eyes until he conjured a pair of sunglasses similar to the fashions worn by the people passing them and held one out for Thor. “It’s certainly bright here,” the younger prince commented. 

It was a stroke of luck that the peoples here looked Aesir. Blending in was much easier that way; though their clothing made of leathers and armor certainly made them stand out. Before Thor could say anything, Loki was weaving a spell to make their outfits match the people walking along the streets. He swayed dangerously again and would have fallen had Thor not wrapped an arm around his waist and held him upright. “We need to get you some food and rest. I don’t like that every time you use your seiðr you’re passing out.”

“Creating an interdimensional rift from nothing took a lot out of me,” Loki admitted as he leaned on his brother to catch his breath. “We should fit in now at least.” Pushing off Thor’s chest, Loki stood a moment then turned and started off down the street. He watched the locals, trying to imitate them as much as possible Thor realized with a sudden revelation. His brother was clever. “Food places look to have doorways outlined in green, while clothing stores are outlined in blue, and those flying places are outlined in red.”

“You figured that out with ten minutes of walking?” Thor asked, amazed. Loki had always been clever, always been book smart and knew how to talk to people, but Thor never thought about how observant he was. He was also much calmer where Thor was likely to barge into a situation without thinking about it first. They were so different for two brothers having grown up together, and Thor was suddenly very thankful for that. While he’d always thought him and Loki would rule together, he now saw the benefits in that even more. They evened each other out, Loki clever a strategist, thinking of several possible outcomes where Thor was more of an actions man, picking one path and sticking with it. “We truly would be good together,” he whispered with the realization. “Your observations and strategies with my action and compassion could never go wrong. If we ever do return home, if at any time you feel ready to return, we will rule together. That is a promise I make to you, Loki.”

The young prince stopped suddenly, causing several people behind them to call out in protest; Loki ignored them, as he usually did. “I’ll hold you to that, you know,” he whispered looking down fidgeting with his hands again before looking up at his brother. “I don’t think I could take it if you lied to me too. Speak true, brother. Tell me now if your words are honest.”

Again Thor reached out, his hand settling on the back of Loki’s neck and he pulled until their foreheads were together. His voice was low when he spoke, breath washing over his brother’s face, “I promise you, as prince and future CO-king of Asgard, that you and I shall rule side by side. I won’t leave you, Loki, even if it’s another thousand years until you feel ready to return home.” Rather than answering, Loki’s arms came around his shoulders and held on, his face moving to the crook of Thor’s neck. They stood, embracing one another on the sidewalk until someone bumped into them and they were forced apart. “I could use food now,” Thor commended when his stomach grumbled at them again.

“Of course you could,” Loki answered, rolling his eyes. 

Finding a place to eat and figuring out the local currency was a lot easier than Thor would have thought it to be. He realized with a start how lucky he’d been when tossed to Midgard that Jane and her friends had taken him in. Had he needed to figure out how Midgard worked for himself, he’s sure he would have starved first. Even his faux-pas with the mug in the dinner hadn’t been as unfortunate as it could have been with Jane there to apologize on his behalf. Here now, Loki looked as if he’d always lived on this planet, speaking with the server with ease, in the native language, and even getting the young woman to blush and flirt with him. 

The two laughed easily about the fire clouds and the aircrafts moving overhead in some bastardized version of a Midgardian Celtic language. Thor could understand what his brother and the server were saying but was not yet confident in his own abilities to replicate the dialect. In a five minute conversation, Loki was able to find out the name of the planet, the name of the city and whether or not they were aware of alien life forms. Teinesgoth was the name of the world, a mouthful in Thor’s opinion, and the entire planet was covered in a thin layer of diamonds which explained why everything sparkled so much. When Loki mentioned alien life forms, the woman laughed and told him he had a very active imagination then asked if she could bring them anything else. They both declined, and she left them alone to finish their soup and bread. 

The food was delicious, spicy and flavorful with the bread having a sweet almost honey taste to it. Thor finished half his bowl before looking up to find Loki’s bowl in a similar state. “Where did you get the payment? Those metal disks?”

Taking time to chew and swallow, then wash his bite down with a glass of whatever they'd been given for liquid, Loki finally answered, “I conjured it. Or well, transfigured it from a grain of salt.” At Thor’s stormy look Loki went on, talking fast before Thor could interrupt. “We’re hungry and here for an unknown amount of time. From what Kaia said, that’s our server, by the way, there’s a festival in town, so many of the temporary rooms are inhabited, but she gave me a few names of places that might have a room left. And before you get all high and mighty, we have no way to pay, so transfiguring a grain of salt seemed the best way to remedy that situation. Wouldn’t you agree, brother-mine?”

With a scowl, Thor realized his brother was right, but he didn’t have to like it. These people didn’t deserve to be robbed, but also the two princes didn’t deserve to go without food. It would likely be this way for a while until they could find a suitable planet to live on for the long term. Their technology seemed advanced enough, though not anywhere near that of Asgard, and they were unaware of life outside their planet. For those reasons he didn’t think this would be the best place for them to live for very long. 

“I like these people,” Loki commented as they walked down the street together. The sun was setting which caused all sorts of exciting colors to appear in the sky. The eerie fire clouds burned brighter in shades of red and blue and purple, and for a moment they both stood against the side of a building to watch. The scene looked like it was something straight out of an oil painting the colors were so vibrant. For ten minutes the brothers viewed the sunset in silence marveling at the wash over colors that moved over the sky as the first of the stars came out to play. Once it was completely dark, they started walking again, no longer needing their eye protection against the glaring lights of the sun. 

The city was bright, almost as bright as it had been with the sun high in the sky, but the artificial light was kept it at a respectable level. Overhead they could see a few bright stars, maybe a planet or two, but nothing more than that; though the sunset was spectacular the night sky didn’t hold a candle to the beauty of Asgard’s night. 

Three blocks away from the eating establishment Loki found the name of the hotel they'd been given and walked in. His quick wit and silver tongue secured them a room for the night. They were handed a red gem, and told to head to the lift around the corner; their room was on the fifth floor, number six. It took a bit of trial and error before they figured out that the lift was voice activated and soon the doors were opening to the fifth floor a gentle voice prompting them to have a goodnight upon their departure. 

The gem, though small, fit into an indent in the door about midway between eye level and the door handle. When pressed against the slot, the door opened to reveal a modest room, one large bed, and a closet. There was a washroom to the left and massive floor to ceiling windows opposite the bed that looked over a beautiful garden that could have rivaled Frigga’s back home. 

While it wasn’t quite what two prince’s of Asgard were used to, it was clean and smelled fresh and would suit their needs quite well. Thor rolled his eyes at Loki’s scowling but said nothing as he towed off his shoes and pulled off his tunic; he set Mjölnir down next to the door, disguised as an umbrella, and went to use the washroom. He could hear Loki puttering around outside the doorway but paid him little attention as he washed up. The shower unit was similar to that of Midgard which was fascinating to think about. How two planets, who knew how far apart could come up with similar technology was astounding. He washed quickly and turned off the water, but didn’t feel like getting back into the clothes he’d been wearing all day, so ventured into the room with just a towel hanging low around his waist. 

Loki was still wearing his glamoured clothes and hadn’t taken off his shoes yet while he explored the room. The light came on by a wave of his hand under the bulb, and there was a musical device in the corner that was voice activated. Thor watched as he turned it on and off several times before turning away and stopping short when he saw Thor standing there wet and wearing only a towel. “Did you lose all sense of propriety in Midgard, brother? Or is it the latest fashions to wander about in a towel?”

Thor was pretty sure he imagined the twin spots of color flushing Loki’s cheeks and just shrugged. “I didn’t want to put my leathers back on after having worn them all day, and we have no other clothing. This trip wasn’t exactly planned.” He was about to say something more when suddenly he was wearing a pair of pants in the softest material he’d ever felt. “Loki?”

“Transfiguring a towel into pants doesn’t take a whole lot of power,” his brother muttered before he changed his own clothes and flopped down on the bed, arms folded looking pensive. He looked around the room trying to take it all in, then glanced back out the windows to watch the aircraft go by before finally turning to look at Thor. “I know you didn’t exactly plan for this, but I... I’m… pleased you’re with me.”

A huge grin bloomed over Thor’s face as his brother’s words registered. “Did you just say you’re happy I’m with you? After all the yelling that I was ruining your life and why couldn’t I stay away from you? You’re telling me you’re glad I’m here?”

“Shut up."

Thor laughed, the sound echoing around the room and coming from some joyous place deep in his belly. He climbed onto the bed, still chuckling, eyes crinkling as he looked at his scowling brother. “I’m glad I’m here with you too.” He grinned again before settling against the headboard. Loki shifted a little, then leaned against him, much as he’d done when they were younger. The silence was comfortable, and Thor felt better about their relationship than he had in years, centuries even. Something seemed to have left them that had been hanging over them a long time, and Thor was glad for it. Maybe Loki was too.

“Do you think you’ll be able to keep creating portals?” The thunder god asked after a while of sitting in silence. “We can’t stay on this planet very long. I fear the people may take notice we don’t exactly fit in. It would be better to find a place where different forms of people live. We could make a life for ourselves there for however long it takes.” It would only work if Loki could learn to control his portals. The last one spit them out with no real destination in mind, and Thor suspected that the next one would do the same. Still, it was a wonder they didn’t land inside of a star, that would have been quite awful.

Loki turned his head up, looking at his brother’s profile and shrugging before snuggling back in. “It took a lot of power to create the first one, but I suspect that had more to do with that strange planet than anything I was doing." He paused and frowned; Thor held silent wanting to know what his brother was thinking without interruption. "Opening a portal isn't difficult per se as long as I know where we are from the start. If I can find a star chart, I might be able to figure out what galaxy we're in and use that to get us to a suitable planet.” He sighed and settled down on the bed, laying on his side, so he was facing Thor who was still sitting against the headboard. “It’ll take me a few days to store up the needed power to make another jump, but I should be able to do it. Hopefully, this place has some good books on astronomy I can look through.” 

“I have every confidence you’ll figure it out, brother,” Thor told him honestly, “now more than ever.” Had someone asked him a year ago if he had confidence in Loki’s abilities as a negotiator or his skills in observation he would have hedged the question. Now though, he could say with complete certainty that he believed in his little brother; he saw the value in the trickster's craft as both a sorcerer and with his silver tongue. Thor had no doubts that together they would be just fine and fell asleep with Loki curled trustingly against his side. Just before sleep claimed him, Thor briefly wondered what great adventures awaited them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor continues to realise how clever his brother is. An incident with the locals has Thor and Loki questioning just how great this planet really is, and Loki shifts to his lady's form.

Watching Loki browse a bookstore for six or seven hours always started off fun; started being the key word in that statement. The way that Loki’s eyes would light up and shine as he walked by the stacks, looking at every title and running his fingers over the spines gently, never failed to make Thor smile. His brother always took the same amount of care with the books, selecting one carefully from a stack, opening to read a passage or two before closing it and putting it back; as if every book was precious. 

While this world was quite remarkable, they sadly lacked in their knowledge of magic, or even higher level Earth sciences. Loki was looking for specific books on star charts, planetary explorations, or even theories on dimensional rifts and wormholes, none of which he’d found so far. When they’d asked the librarian about sorcery books, they’d been meet with a sceptical look as if the princes were playing a prank; it was only Thor’s sincere face that had kept them from being tossed out on their backsides. 

After Loki’s seventh sigh of frustration in less than five minutes, Thor was at the end of his patient waiting. He was bored and hungry and the day was beautiful; he wanted to explore and after four hours and three different bookstores he felt he’d earned the right. “Loki,” he whispered, though it was loud enough that several people turned to glare at him. Even on this planet talking in a library was frowned upon; it was comforting to know there were some universal constants. 

Lowering his voice, Thor whispered again, “Loki.” His brother still paid him no attention as he continued to read the book he held. From his vantage point Thor couldn’t see the name, but could see star charts inside along with illustrations of a solar system; he wondered if it was this planets system. The prince got up, walking to his brother's side so he wouldn't have to talk too loud and disturb those around them. “Loki,” Thor tried again and smiled when his brother raised his head from the book, “we’ve been looking at books for four hours. It’s a beautiful day, Brother, let’s go explore this land.”

Loki looked as if he was about to argue, but at the last second snapped the book closed and put it back. “Well, I’ve figured out where we are in relation to Asgard, not that I plan to go back there, but I can at least get us safely to another planet. There are several planetary systems in this galaxy we can explore.” He smirked before turning and walking out, Thor hot on his heels. "Think of all the adventures we'll have exploring, Brother."

Overhead was a rainbow of moving from green to red to purple as clouds lazily danced across the sky. There were food vendors with carts lined along the path circling the outskirts of a vast park, selling several different varieties of food that Thor and Loki were all too happy to sample. Thor, still hungry even after ordering from three different carts, had what looked like a hot dog from Midgard only the meat patty was yellow, but it was quite delicious all the same. The breading was sweet with a slight char on the bottom giving it a smoky flavour, while the meat was saltier; the combination proved to be very successful in Thor’s opinion. At the next vendor cart that sold something similar, he ordered another one then another because he knew he would still be hungry with just the one. There was a slight twinge of guilt every time Loki handed over the currency, but they needed to eat to survive, and Loki assured him that the money was as real as he could make it. 

Something was still tugging at the back of Thor’s mind, and as he finished the last of his meal, he turned to his brother finally voicing his wonder, “how long have you been jumping to other worlds?” When they’d first arrived Thor got the impression that this had been the first time Loki had ever opened a dimensional gateway between planets, but small bits of conversation had been filtering through his mind brought him to the conclusion that Loki seemed to know more than he’d previously let on. It made more sense that his brother had been jumping worlds without the aid of the Bifrost for years, maybe decades or even centuries, and only now Thor was being made aware of it. Again he had to wonder just how powerful Loki was. 

Out of the cover of his eye, he could see Loki’s expressions warring with each other. At first, he seemed confused, then cautious, until finally he looked defeated. With a sigh, Loki answered, “four hundred or so years.” He shrugged at Thor’s startled expression then laughed. “It’s easier on Asgard though. I shouldn’t need to gather my power to me to make a jump, even one across a galaxy, but I’m finding that’s what I have to do here. On Asgard, there are pockets of natural power that I can tap into, and then, of course, there are areas where the veil between dimension are so thin that anyone can jump realms if they know how to look for them. But here there’s nothing like that.” He shrugged again then jumped back as a ball rolled by their feet and two little children chased after it. 

“Careful!” The princes yelled together as a vehicle turned a corner and sped towards the two children running after their ball. Without thinking they reached out, grabbing them around the middle right as the vehicle came to a halt mear centimetres from where they were standing. The ball continued to roll across the street unharmed while bystanders gasped in horror. The children were trembling, tears streaming down their faces as they looked up at Thor and Loki who still held them tight around the middle. Thor bent to look them over, making sure neither was harmed, but other than frightened, the two seemed fine. “Are you two alright?” He asked while his brother looked around trying to find the parents.

“Thor,” Loki whispered, nodding to two women running towards them. 

The men stood, letting the children go to their mothers who immediately began to yell at Thor and Loki in a dialect the princes couldn’t understand. It sounded vaguely like a bastardized form of Welsh maybe, but since they’d been speaking a heavily accented form of Gaelic since they arrived, it wasn’t much of a surprise that there would be others. Loki, held up his hands, a smile forming easily on his face. “Madams, please, we wer-” His voice cut off when one of the women spat in his direction, and the family turned, stalking off. “Well that was rude for saving the lives of small children,” Loki muttered turning to look at Thor. 

All around them people were staring and whispering, Thor caught a few words, but to him, it didn’t make sense. The driver of the vehicle was glaring at them as well as if it was their fault the children had been in danger when he’d been the one with the vehicle moving at unreasonable speeds. It wasn’t worth an altercation though, especially since Loki couldn’t teleport them off the planet yet, so the two pushed away from the crowd and quickly walked in a different direction. Thor was stealing glances back every so often to make sure they weren’t in danger, and no one was following.

They walked in silence for another fifteen minutes before Loki stopped, eyebrows drawing together. “They were yelling that we’d upset the natural balance,” he said suddenly looking up at Thor. “What in Hel does that mean?”

It took Thor a few minutes longer than Loki to translate and piece together what had been said, he was good at languages, but Loki was far better at them than he was. There was the driver, glaring at them, but when they started to walk away, he’d said it was all their fault if the family was punished. The mothers had been yelling too, and Loki was right, one of them shouted that they’d upset the natural balance, the other was crying that they would all be punished. “Punished?" Thor answered with a frown. "Who’s being punished?” He turned to Loki who looked just as baffled as he did. “Maybe they were speaking to the children, saying the children would be punished for running out into the streets? Surely no one can be mad at us for saving two small children? They were barely six years old.”

It was an old argument dating back centuries, Loki claiming Thor thought too good of people, and Thor saying Loki always looked for the bad. It always made Thor wonder how two brothers, raised the same could have turned out so differently. Where Loki was deceit, Thor was open; where Thor charged ahead, Loki was cautious; there were a million more tiny details like those that set the two apart, and yet somehow they always seemed to gravitate back towards one another. Had they not been brothers Thor wondered if it would have been the same. Even now, looking at Loki, he could tell his brother was thinking the worst of things, that somehow this planet was hiding something, and those people meant to cause them harm. Thor, on the other hand, didn’t overthink it. No one had come after them, and he couldn’t picture any situation where people would be angry at someone for saving the lives of children. He shook his head and continued walking down the path leading to the water below them which reflected the colours of the sky beautifully.

There seemed to be no set pattern to the colors this planet boasted. The sky had been purple and green in the morning with rainbow clouds of fire, but sometimes in the early afternoon had turned a bright shade of blue with pockets of reds that blended at the edges to make purple. There were no clouds save for far in the distance. Below them, waves crashed along a rocky shore, the waters reflecting the blues, reds, and purples of the sky, while being so clear the brothers could see straight down to the bottom. Fish and other wildlife swam through the waters and played in the surf. At one point a creature looking very much like a seal danced from wave to wave, coming in and out with the tides. 

“I wouldn’t worry so much, Brother, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding on our parts,” the thunder god assured, “let us not let it ruin our day. Look at that, a seal playing in the waves like on Asgard.” Loki didn’t look so convinced but followed behind his brother without comment, something that made Thor both surprised and pleased. 

The rest of the day was thankfully spent without incident. The beach seemed to go on for kilometres as they walked along the pure white sands while colourful waves lapped gently onto the shore. The sound was nearly musical, a place where Thor could see bringing a romantic interest for a picnic, or an enjoyable swim. People were milling about, kids running into the waves then running out as the waves chased behind them to the shore. Over their heads, several kites flew in the wind with laughing children running on the ground to keep them gliding. It was a beautiful day, almost perfect, and a lot like those they’d spent as children in Asgard. 

Even Loki seemed to be enjoying their day together, watching the children, and taking in the scenery. “It’s a lot like Asgard isn’t it?” He said to Thor while they walked back to the hotel. “A little brighter… well, a lot brighter. It’s like staring into the sun through a magnifying glass. I feel like my retina’s going to fry at any moment.” Thor chuckled, amused at Loki’s dry humour, but he had to agree with that. This planet was the brightest thing he’d ever seen. Every surface was glittering, and no amount of clouds seemed to make it dimmer. “But the peacefulness,” the trickster went on, looking over at his brother, “the cleanliness, the joy on people’s faces. It’s like we’re ten years old again running through the fields on a sunny day.”

The planet was colourful and bright, but their people seemed happy and prosperous. The roads were clean, the smells in the air were sweet and floral, and adults went about their business while the children played in the parks. Other than the incident with the vehicle from early in the afternoon, Thor couldn’t remember hearing any discourse at all throughout the day, only laughter and smiles. It was almost disconcerting when he stopped to think about it more closely. Sure, people arguing in public was always awkward, and Thor had avoided such things most his life, but to see no arguing or unhappy looks from anyone throughout the day was just odd. Still, it was better than a warring planet; in a few days Loki would find a place for a dimensional jump, and they would be on another planet. While on this planet, they could explore and enjoy, an adventure like Loki had said. He would eat their excellent food, and explore their fair city and then they would be gone without much of a trace. 

Though they were nomads now, Thor didn't have the heart to talk Loki out of making a few purchases along the way, mostly books. Plus he was reasonably sure Loki could carry an unlimited amount of stuff with him in a way no one could see. Much like he did with his daggers. One of the books they’d picked up was a history of the city, and Thor thumbed through it while Loki was taking a bath. 

Like all history books, it was boring, but it did shed some light on why this city was the way it was. The planet was made up of fifteen sections of land on large islands scattered around a planet roughly twice the size of Asgard. Each island was its own nation with its own government and its own means of supporting their citizens. Twenty years ago a major war had ravaged the planet, nearly seventy percent of the citizens had died in a chemical attack that no nation admitted responsibility. Since then, things were very peaceful in all fifteen islands, arguments and civil unrest in public were outlawed, prevention of accidents was considered going against the natural order, and there was only one punishment for all crimes: death. Though it seemed harsh, these people believed in letting fate dictate their lives, accidents were the choice of their gods and disrupting their gods with raised voices and harsh words was punishable by death. Thor hadn’t seen any sign of people being unhappy or seeming oppressed but they’d only been on the planet for a day, and he knew they wouldn’t be able to stay much longer. Their laws were too strict for two princes who were used to arguing and fighting. 

Steam billowed out from the bathroom as soon as the door opened pushing the scent of whatever soaps Loki had used throughout the rest of the room. It smelled familiar and comforting, even in this strange place and Thor closed his eyes to breathe it in. Jasmine and roses, a combination Thor knew well and would always associate with home, having grown up around Frigga’s beautiful gardens. Apparently, his unsentimental brother held more sentiment for their home than he liked to let on; it made Thor smile.

“Why do you look so pleased with yourself?” Loki asked, sitting on the small vanity chair to comb out her hair. It had been a while since Thor had seen his sister’s lady form and he was pleased that she seemed comfortable enough to have shifted here. Thor continued to watch her without answering, a small smile on his face that had Loki scowling at him. “What? Why’re you looking at me so strangely? What madness befell you, dear brother?”

Thor rolled his eyes. “No, sister, I am in my right mind. It has been a while since I’ve seen your lady form and I was simply pleased to see it.” Loki was beautiful in any form, but there was something about her lady’s form that always appealed to Thor. Her hair was longer, her waist slimmer, but she held the same amount of strength and was the same height in either form. In her lady form her eyes were a tad larger, the green a bit deeper and her voice like a melody. “How is your seiðr?”

“Back up to normal levels,” Loki answered as she braided her hair and tied it off at the end. “Now that I know where we are,” she started making her way to the bed to settle in beside her brother, “making another jump won’t be difficult. You could always add your power behind it, making it even easier.” She glanced at the history book still on Thor’s lap and picked it up, reading a few paragraphs before wrinkling her nose and tossing it to the floor with disdain. “Really? A planet that believes in murdering their citizens who step out of line? Barbaric, even for me.”

It was barbaric, but it was their way, Thor and Loki were only guests, and soon they would be less than a memory. “Well, you did tell me our lives would be an adventure, this is just one of many.” He pressed a kiss to her temple before settling down in the bed to sleep. It was comforting having Loki there in a way that Thor wasn’t used to; they'd been pulling farther and farther apart for decades, but here on this planet, it was like old times again. The two easily fell into old banter and shared memories. This planet, these people were nothing like he was used to, nothing at all like any in the nine realms but they had allowed the prince to get to know his sibling in a way that wouldn't have been possible had they stayed on Asgard. Thor now knew that Loki's cleverness wasn't just for causing mischief, she was observant and smart. The trickster could wield magic unlike any Thor had seen before and had a vast knowledge of interdimensional travel and physics far beyond Thor's understanding. As sleep took him, Thor was suddenly very glad he'd let instinct guide him into following his brother into the unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is able to vent his frustrations over being treated so differently than his brother, though they'd both been raised to believe they both would be king. Their fight leads to a horrible understanding that the beautiful fire planet isn't as peaceful and progressive as it first appeared which leads to a quick decision to leave. The next planet isn't so great either and something is terribly wrong with Thor...

The next morning started off much like the last; Thor woke to see Loki braiding her hair in front of the mirror, a silver thread braided into each plait and emerald beads scattered throughout. Her dress was simple, though elegant in a burnish gold colour trimmed with emerald green that flowed like water against her ankles. Her nails were painted a light gold to match her dress and around her eyes a thin line of black making her look even more arresting. Loki looked every bit the princess that she was. 

It took Thor a moment to stop staring, only doing so when he heard his sister’s soft laughter from across the room and their eyes met through the mirror. “Off,” she whispered to the mirror and turned as the hologram blinked out of existence. “Since yesterday we went to many many bookshops, I will magnanimously allow you to choose our activity for today. Then tomorrow, if you’re ready, we can make a jump to a new planet.”

Magnanimous was not an adjective Thor would ever use to describe his mercurial sibling, but rather than commenting on Loki’s word choice he slipped from the bed to get dressed. Loki made him a pair of brown breeches in a soft leather and a maroon tunic in the styles of the planet, but of a higher quality to match her own. Turning the mirror on, Thor looked himself over and had to admit his sister could add ‘master tailor’ to her growing list of impressive skills. 

They left the hotel just as the sun was peeking around the mountains signalling it to be midmorning. The air was cool with the scent of fresh flowers flowing with the light breeze coming off the water. Rather than heading back towards the parks they had visited the day before, Thor turned the other direction to explore the inner city. “You know, it looks a lot of Alfheim in the summer,” he commented as Loki slipped her hand into the crook of Thor’s arm making him smile at the gesture. “The cool breeze, the smell of flowers, add in some hot springs and I would swear that’s where we were.”

“Sure, hot springs and a few thousand light elves,” Loki replied with a shrug. 

The day was overcast which was a nice reprieve from the glaring sun of the last two days, though because of the way this planet worked, it looked like the entire sky was on fire. The clouds rolled across the sky, giant flames of reds and oranges casting a reddish hue over everything. It was remarkable. They both took a few minutes to stare straight up. A crack of thunder rolled overhead, as clouds slammed into one another and purple lightning streaked across the sky. Loki looked at Thor sharply but he waved her off.

“It wasn’t me,” he insisted. He could feel the charge in the air from the incoming storm. More lightning jumped from fire cloud to fire cloud causing a loud clap of thunder that shook the buildings around them. “We should find a place to take refuge before the rain starts. We don’t know what kind of rain they have here, the planet had been ravaged by war not too long ago, perhaps it’s still toxic.” It was unlikely considering those around them didn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry to seek shelter, but as strangers, tplanet, Thor didn’t want to take any chances. They needed to break fast anyway.

The skies opened and silvery rain poured down just as the two stepped into an eating establishment. They were seated quickly by a window and given water and a menu before the server moved to another table. The written language was strange, more symbols than actual words but neither struggled to understand after spending so much time in a bookstore. “I think this is a meat pie of some kind,” Thor commented pointing at an image of one of the menu items. “I believe I will have that. No one can go wrong with meat.”

Any hardy meal consisting of meats and bread would always be Thor’s preference, whereas Loki enjoyed a lighter meal, though usually consisting of meats as well. There was a sausage platter with a few different flavours and a honey roll to accompany that looked to be the perfect meal to break fast. When their server came back around, they ordered, then settled in to wait while the storm raged on outside the window. 

“You have an umbrella,” Loki reminded pointedly looking at the disguised Mjölnir. “We would hardly have gotten wet. Plus, you do remember I am a sorceress, do you not?” 

While that was true, Loki could easily keep the water from soaking them through, it wouldn’t be a good idea to advertise a skill no one else on the planet possessed. They wanted to blend in then leave, not draw more attention to themselves. People already did double takes as they passed by, perhaps sensing that they were not from this realm. Thor shrugged and looked at the umbrella resting on the table. “It’s not really an umbrella and you keeping the water off of us would hardly help us blend in. It’s better to break fast and enjoy a slow meal than to bring the natives down around us.” He took a sip of water, humming at the fresh sweet taste before continuing, “besides, I enjoy watching storms.”

“Of course you do.” Thor grinned but didn’t have time for anything else before their food arrived and he was too busy stuffing his face and moaning obscenely. Loki wrinkled her nose. “Utterly disgusting. Are you sure you’re a prince?” 

“Pretty sure we’re related,” Thor said without thinking then watched as Loki’s smile faded from her face. “Loki,” he sighed putting down his fork and reaching out to take his sister’s hand, frowning when she pulled away. “Regardless of your parentage, we are related. You are my sibling. I love you above all others. We have always and will always be together and I am sorry Father and Mother lied to you all these years, there are no excuses, but please do not believe for one second you are not my sibling.”

Through Thor’s little speech Loki was quiet, looking at her plate with a blank expression, but eventually looked up, hope blooming on her face. It took another few minutes for her to finally answer, outside the storm grew more intense, rain battering against the windows. “I know you feel that way,” she said at last, “and while I am not disputing that you are my brother and that you love me, and I you, this is something I need to figure out.” She picked at her plate, smearing the honey around with the biscuit. “I did not steal the throne, it was given to me when Father fell into Odinsleep. I know your friends told you I stole it, but I did not. It was rightfully mine, I was the rightful king until he woke.” She looked up, frowning. “But I did not want you to return. I liked the idea of being king, so many things I could have done, and I would have been good for Asgard. But as always I’m the screw-up, so when I announced I would not bring you home, which was the right thing to do at the time, your friends naturally moved against me. When I decided to finish the war you started, your friends moved against me, and yet, dear brother, when it was you going into battle they stood with you no questions asked. Why do you get to play by a different set of rules?” With a start, Loki snapped her mouth closed and looked around at the people watching them. Leaning forward, she lowered her voice and hissed, “why are you forgiven and I am fought?”

“Loki. You tried to kill an entire race.”

“And you did no different!” Loki shouted, hand slamming down on the table. “Yet I am the one they move against, which I would remind you was treason! I was king! I did not steal the throne it was given to me and I didn’t even want it!” She was panting, eyes blazing at her brother and hands curled into fists. 

A middle-aged man hurried out from behind a doorway looking around nervously as he approached their table. “Please, please we don’t want trouble. If you must yell do so outside.” He looked around as if he expected something to happen and Thor remembered that negativity was outlawed through harsh punishments. “Please quiet down.”

Thor looked at his sister then at the man and nodded. “Our apologise for the harsh words, we were merely in a heated argument but do not truly hold any negative thoughts towards one another. We’re siblings, travelling through your island, and I’m sure you can understand how siblings react sometimes.”

The man didn’t look fully convinced but did seem to deflate somewhat as he looked between them. Loki remained silent, staring at her barely touched meal. “Yes, of course. I have a sister and I do understand that siblings don’t always agree, but please remember our laws. I would hate for anyone to get hurt over a misunderstanding.”

“Of course, and again my apologies.” Thor smiled largely, showing his teeth and dimples, blue eyes flashing with friendly cheer. The man smiled back and nodded to them before going back to the kitchens, or wherever it was he came from. 

“Loki,” Thor whispered but didn’t get a chance to say more before his sister was throwing money on the table and storming out of the restaurant. It took Thor a moment to gather himself and follow, having to rush to catch up to Loki’s quick strides. Thankfully the rain had stopped and they weren’t getting soaked, though a dampness still clung to the air. “Sister please!” Thor called and grabbed Loki’s wrist. She didn’t turn around but did stop, allowing him to remain in possession of her hand. It was a small victory Thor would gladly accept. “I can’t answer your questions, and you’re right. I wanted a war to prove I was a worthy king and had I been crowned I would have taken Asgard to war, but my time on Earth showed me that just because I am a warrior does not mean I have to crave war. There are other ways to earn honour.”

“How nauseating,” Loki sneered, but still didn’t turn around. 

It wasn’t something that Thor could explain, his sudden understanding of honour or his immediate love for Midgard. Jane, he was sure, had something to do with it, her thirst for knowledge reminded him a lot of Loki, but there was an innocence and kindness to Jane that Loki lacked. But he’d met other Midgardians, Erik, Darcy, even the Son of Coul and realised how amazing they truly were. Young, still volatile and destructive, a people who had yet to learn to put humanity as a whole above personal greed, but for the most part, humans were creative and compassionate. He’d learned a lot but it wasn’t something he was sure he could explain. 

“I’m not ready to forgive them,” Loki said after a stretch of silence. She finally turned, looking at Thor and threading their fingers together. “You see us as equal, but I did not grow up that way. I was told one thing and treated as something else. We were raised to believe we could both be king, that we were both in line for the throne but Odin never would have let me be crowned. I was always just the spare, and then to find out I was nothing more than a pawn, a pretty bauble to be kept until it was needed; I can’t forgive that yet. Maybe someday, but not yet. Do you understand?” 

Thor could see the longing, the hope in Loki’s eyes that Thor would stay with her, that he would take her side, and while he couldn’t fully forgive her for what she’d tried to do, he would stand with her and told her so, nodding his agreement. The relief on his sister’s face made it worth it, and the smile even more so. He was about to say more when they were interrupted by sirens and shouting across the street.

A young man, looking barely out of adolescence was wrestling with two men in white, shouting that he was innocent. The sirened cars pulled up and four more people in white got out, each holding a strange instrument. It looked like a box, no bigger than a deck of cards, but as soon as the man saw it he started to beg even more, twisting and flailing in the arms of his captor.

“Please!” He cried, looking at the gathering crowd as if he expected someone to help him. “Please, I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me! I was just walking there. I didn’t pick any flowers, I didn’t! I swear! They were already picked!” The man was crying, tears falling down his face as he was held still, his head tilted to the side. “Please,” he whimpered again. 

Thor stepped forward but Loki’s hand on his arm halted his steps. “Sister?”

“He’s being executed,” she whispered, watching the barbaric scene unfold with an unreadable expression. “You can’t help him.” 

“For stepping on flowers!?” Thor bellowed but quieted at Loki’s harsh look. One of the officials in white looked their way, but Thor quickly schooled his features and watched as the box was pressed to the man’s neck. 

The man cried huge wailing sobs that echoed through the streets until suddenly his sobs stopped and he slumped in his captive's arms. His skin was already turning an ashy grey by the time they loaded him into a waiting van. “They killed him,” Thor whispered, “over flowers.”

The crowd stayed where they were, watching with blank faces until the people in white had driven off, then everyone dispersed, going about their business as if nothing had happened. Thor and Loki stood on the sidewalk a few moments longer before Loki turned, her hand still in Thor’s and started walking back towards the field they’d arrived in. “I think it’s time we got off this planet, wouldn’t you agree, brother mine?” She didn’t wait for a reply, and Thor had none to give as they walked together, hands still linked. “It’s barbaric.”

“Why didn’t you let me help him? You know I could have taken on any one of those people and saved that man.” Thor asked. A society having only one punishment for every crime no matter how small, being death, was illogical at best; what purpose could it possibly serve other than to make everyone anxious and riddled with constant fear. It wasn’t a sustainable way of living and eventually, they would have another war on their hands. “Loki?”

It wasn’t until they were at the edge of the field, tucked away from the hustle of the city before Loki answered. She pulled her hand free and turned, facing Thor fully. “Because what would have happened after that?”

“What?”

Loki had a remarkable way of looking at someone as if they were the stupidest person in the world, without actually shifting her facial features and Thor scowled at the familiar expression, folding his arms defensively. “I mean, Brother, if you’d freed that man, where would he have gone? You would have caused a spectacle, possibly killed more people, and then made that man a fugitive at which, if he’d been caught, worse could have happened to him than a mere painless injection causing instant death.”

When said like that it made sense but Thor still didn’t like it. He debated arguing farther but the sound of sirens made him think better of it. “Are you going to need a lightning burst to break open a doorway?” He still wasn’t sure how Loki was creating the portals, but it was endlessly fascinating nonetheless. 

“Perhaps,” she answered as she looked around, searching for something Thor didn't understand. “On Asgard, it’s easier, I can find a thinning of the veil between dimensions, but we’re halfway across the known universe and I don’t know where the thinnings are, or where they even lead. So having an energy source to help boost my seiðr helps.” She smiled and pointed at a spot Thor was nearly sure was the exact location they’d arrived in. “Two metres to your two o’clock please.” 

Thor pulled Mjölnir to him, changing the disguise so his hammer was back to her usual form, and gathered the storm clouds to him. The sirens drew closer as lightning danced from cloud to cloud, this time created by Thor’s anger and the need to leave. He could see four figures in white coming towards them, shouting in their native language but there wasn’t time to figure out what they were saying, though he had a pretty good idea from the weapons they were holding. 

Lightning gathered above their heads as Loki counted down, “three… two… one… now, Brother!” Together, they unleashed their power, directing it to the same point and a hole was ripped open through the very fabric of space. This time, Thor didn’t waste time going through it, knowing the portal wasn’t as solid as it looked and they had no time to spare as the officials ran towards them, weapons at the ready. Thor shouted for his sister to hurry; Loki looked back at the four men descending on them before looking at Thor and running forward to be swallowed by the portal seconds before Thor entered behind her. The last thing Thor saw before slipping through was a beam of purple energy coming towards them quickly.

Thor held tight to Loki’s hand as they fell together, landing hard onto a wet mushy sand. The air smelled of salt and there wasn’t a cloud in sight, though two large solar bodies covered the majority of the sky, other planets or moons, Thor didn’t know, but they were very close. He stood and looked around, helping Loki to her feet. Everywhere he looked was nothing but sand and sand and more sand and in the distance, he could see mountains, but nothing else. 

Thor turned to see his sister pulling herself from the sand, a snarl on her lips. “Ugh, I would land us in wet dirt.”

“I believe it is sand, Sister.”

That earned him another scowl before Loki finally looked around. “I don’t think that’s good,” she whispered staring wide-eyed at the moons in the sky. “Planets or moons that close would cause this planet to be very volatile from the gravitational pull. I don’t think we should stay here more than a few hours.”

Thor agreed. It wouldn't be a great ending to a mostly pleasant last few days, public execution notwithstanding, if they were suddenly caught in a spontaneous volcanic eruption, or a fissure opened from a ground quake. He turned to look around and frowned as he realized he was sinking into the sand. Quicksand then, but where was the water coming from? 

“What?” Loki asked looking up when Thor asked the question aloud. She was attempting to stay on top of the sand and looked quite amusing. Thor chuckled and even her scowl couldn't stop the laughter. “I’m sorry am I amusing you in my attempt to stay on top of the sand?”

The scowl made Thor laugh harder. “Yes Sister, you are.” He grinned and lifted his foot to step onto the sand’s surface. “But it is strange it would be here and no other body of water. Are we in a lake?”

Loki shrugged. “Maybe we should head towards the mountains, see if people live here, though I doubt it. Not sure anything could survive in this place with those moons so close, plus there’s no vegetation anywhere, though a breathable atmosphere which means there’s either a very large ocean or trees.”

With the amount of quicksand they were walking on, Thor was going to put his money on an ocean, but there was no way to truly know. They walked mostly in silence for ten minutes until Thor suddenly stopped his vision going in and out. Loki turned to look at him and noticing Thor shaking his head moved closer, putting a hand on her brother’s arm. “Brother?”

“I’m alright,” Thor insisted, and he was, the blurry vision was stabilizing and he felt fine, though a bit confused. “Sorry, was just a bit dizzy for a moment, but I’m alright now.” He shook his head once more, rubbing his eyes and blinking quickly as he looked at the mountains in the distance. The ground beneath him seemed to be even wetter than it was a few minutes ago, water rising to cover their ankles. “We’re definitely in a lake or ocean of some kind,” he commented.

Loki looked down and sighed, the bottom of her dress was soaked through, the water travelling up. “This is silk, and now it is ruined.”

Again Thor laughed at his sister’s ire. “You’re a excellent sorceress, Sister, I’m sure you can make it like new again.” The laughter died on his lips as he looked once again at the mountains which seemed to blur before his eyes, the land spinning bringing Thor to his knees. He grunted at the impact. 

“Thor?!” Loki’s concerned voice made him look up, but the motion made him feel like he was going to throw up so he looked back down at the sand. “Thor, what’s wrong?” She dropped to her knees by her brother looking at him with concern as she held his face in her hands. “Thor?”

It took a moment for him to speak, “I’m okay, just,” he paused, looking at the mountains again and frowned. His dizziness was going away, and his vision sharpening, but the mountains looked closer. “Loki, do the mountains look closer to you?” 

Loki looked at him a moment longer before turning her head. She stared then looked down at the water that was lapping gently at their legs, higher than it was only a few minutes before. “Shit,” she whispered her usual elegance with words failing her. “Shit, Thor those aren’t mountains, that’s a tidal wave. We need to get out of here, get up!” She stood and pulled on Thor’s arm but when he tried to get up he fell back to the sand with a grunt. “Thor! Thor, I’m weak from the jump, it’s taking a lot of power even with your help, I need another bolt of lightning. Stand up!”

The wall of water, several metres high was moving closer by the second, what seemed to be far in the distance, details hard to detect was now drawing closer and Thor could see the foamy caps of the wave. He struggled, trying to stand, holding Mjölnir up to the sky but couldn’t seem to draw the lightning to him. “I can’t, Loki, something’s wrong. I can’t seem to stand up and my lightning isn’t coming to me.”

“What in Hel…” Loki breathed, eyes wide. It took a lot to make an Asgardian sick, or even hurt for more than a few seconds but Thor was progressively getting worse. She looked at the wall of water then back at her brother and took a few deep breaths. 

Thor watched, eyes moving between Loki and the incoming wave but remained quiet. He continued to try and draw the lightning to him, but it wasn’t working, his power seemed locked behind a wall of nausea and dizziness and his vision went in and out of focus. Beside him, Loki cussed in several languages as she pulled her seiðr to her to rip open a portal. Her brow continued to scrunch as Thor watched her struggle until finally, a small hole appeared in front of them. “I don’t think that will work, Sister,” Thor commented, amused. His head was pounding, eyes blurry and water, but he could see just enough to note that the wave was much closer. Another minute and it would drown them. “Hurry.”

“You’re not helping!” Loki yelled at him, glaring, before turning around to look at the wave and redoubling her efforts to get the portal larger. It was growing, though slowly and every second Thor was feeling his strength leave him. He wobbled, falling from his knees to his ass, sitting in the slushy cold water but unable to move. “Thor, don’t pass out on me. I’m not sure I can carry you. Alright, that’s as good as it’s going to get. Let’s go.”  
Together they struggled to get Thor standing, he wrapped an arm around his sister and she helped him hobble to the rip in space-time. He turned to watch the water, the wave cresting and growing even higher as all the water they were sloshing through rushed out quickly making it even harder for them to get to the portal. It was close, Loki pushing her brother through the portal just as the wave crashed down onto them swallowing everything. The last thing Thor remembered was yelling for his sister to hurry and then, cold, salty, wetness enveloped him and everything went dark.


End file.
